Best Web Hosting Reviews 2018-2019-Business owners, answer this important question: Does your company have a website? If not, it should. Naturally, online businesses demand websites for marketing and selling products or services, but even brick-and-mortar business need to be discoverable via the web. Word of mouth just doesn’t cut it anymore. These days, people discover new businesses via Bing, Google and Yahoo, search engines that make it incredibly simple to find companies’ products, operational hours, and prices. If your business doesn’t appear in the search results, especially on the first page, it’ll be incredibly difficult for potential clients and customers to find you. The TL;DR? No website, no money. No one wants want that. Go to our Top 10 Best Web Hosting Reviews 2018-2019.How to Choose the Best Web Hosting Provider

Without the best web hosting, the ability to run a successful website is going to be seriously hindered. One of the worst mistakes people make is to choose a provider at random. If there’s a situation that calls for some thought, consideration and research, this is it. There’s a dizzying array of companies competing for your business. How can you pinpoint the best one? Start by keeping the following points in mind.

The first thing to do when shopping for a web host is to evaluate the disk space and bandwidth needs. If a site will feature a lot of graphics, dozens of pages and get a lot of traffic, it’s going to need decent amounts of bandwidth and disk space. Unlimited plans are available, and they make life easier. If the site is going to be simple and not generate a huge amount of traffic, smaller amounts of disk space and bandwidth should suffice.

Keep compatibility in mind, too. Although setting up a hosting solution is exciting, be sure not to overlook one critical thing: the type of operating systems that are supported. Nobody wants to switch operating systems, so double-check this point before making a final decision.

Reliability and availability are critical characteristics to consider when shopping around. The best options offer availability rates of 98 and 99 percent. This is frequently referred to as “uptime”. It’s easy to make such claims, though, so make sure to see if they make good on their promises.

Security is also an essential concern. Choosing from the many options without learning about available security features is a big mistake. Things like firewalls, daily backups and user authentication should all be included. It’s also nice to receive notifications whenever changes are made because they can alert site owners to suspicious activity.

image description Get a Feel for Pricing & Value

Some people choose web hosting providers strictly based on price. That’s not a great strategy, but definitely take pricing into consideration. The best providers offer options for every budget. In some cases, signing up for long subscriptions will qualify you for extra discounts.

Also, try to leave room to grow. It’s great to choose a plan that suits the site’s current needs. With any luck, though, it will grow and expand over time. Your needs could change. Switching to a new provider is a major hassle, so look for one that offers scalable plans. In other words, you should be able to upgrade to another plan easily if necessary. Low prices are always great, but if the low price comes with limits on space or bandwidth, make sure the deal is really worth it.

In the same vein, note how many email accounts are provided. Whether multiple email addresses will be needed or not, it’s nice to have the option to create as many as possible. In most instances, more expensive plans include larger numbers of email addresses. This feature isn’t very important to some people, but it is critical to others. Always Investigate Support and Customer Service

Even if you’re a whiz at setting up websites, it’s nice to know that help is available whenever it’s needed. Confirm that the potential provider offers 24/7 support and that there are several ways to get support. The most reliable ones provide support through email, phone and online chat.

Great customer support includes customer freedom. Review policies to ensure that there is a clear money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with their product. After narrowing things down to just a few candidates, search for online reviews about each one. Ideally, the reviews should come from real people. Testimonials on the company’s website don’t count. Look for Extras

In addition to providing the basics like bandwidth and disk space, a plan will include at least a few extras. If the goal is to create an online store, look for providers that offer ecommerce solutions. If you’d like to be able to perform fast and easy updates, look for one that offers content management systems.

As tempting as it may be to just choose a provider and get on with life, it’s better to take as much time is needed. By doing so, the right platform will be discovered and it will be one that you can stick with for the long haul. Why You Need Web Hosting

Business owners, answer this important question: Does your company have a website? If not, it should. Naturally, online businesses demand websites for marketing and selling products or services, but even brick-and-mortar business need to be discoverable via the web. Word of mouth just doesn’t cut it anymore. These days, people discover new businesses via Bing, Google and Yahoo, search engines that make it incredibly simple to find companies’ products, operational hours, and prices. If your business doesn’t appear in the search results, especially on the first page, it’ll be incredibly difficult for potential clients and customers to find you. The TL;DR? No website, no money. No one wants want that.

The first step in building your online presence is finding a web host, the company that will store your website’s files on its servers and deliver them to your readers’ and customers’ browsers. Web hosting services offer varying amounts of monthly data transfers, storage, email, and other features. Even how you pay (month-to-month payments vs. annual payments) can be radically different, too, so taking the time to plot exactly what your company needs for online success is essential.

You should also familiarize yourself with the many web hosting tiers that are available. In your research, you’ll find shared, virtual private server (VPS), dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting plans. Each tier offers different specs and features that you should take the time to analyze. I’ll break them down. What Is Shared Web Hosting?

Shared hosting is web hosting in which the provider houses multiple sites on a single server. For example, Site A shares the same server with Site B, Site C, Site D, and Site E. The upside is that the multiple sites share the server cost, so shared web hosting is generally very inexpensive. In fact, you can find an option for less than $10 per month.

The downside is that all the sites share a single server’s resources, so huge traffic spike on Site A may impact the neighboring sites’ performances. What Is VPS Web Hosting?

VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that multiple sites share the same server, but the similarities end there. A dedicated web host houses less sites per server than shared hosting, and each site has its own individual resources.

As a result, Site A’s traffic surge won’t impact Site B or Site C. As you’d expect, VPS hosting costs more than shared hosting. You’ll pay roughly $20 to $60 per month. What Is Dedicated Web Hosting?

Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, is both powerful and pricey. It’s reserved for sites that require an incredible amount of server resources.

Unlike shared or VPS hosting, dedicated hosting makes your website the lone tenant on a server. The means that your website taps the server’s full power. That said, many dedicated web hosting services task you with handling backend, technical issues. What Is WordPress Web Hosting?

WordPress hosting is for people who want to build their sites on the back of the popular WordPress content management system (CMS). Many WordPress hosts automatically handle backend stuff, so you don’t have to worry about updating the apps and CMS, and enabling automatic backups. Extra Web Hosting Info

If you’re not sure of the type of hosting your business needs, you might want to start small, with shared Web hosting. You can always graduate to a more robust, feature-rich package of, say, VPS hosting or even dedicated hosting in the future. Unfortunately, some hosts don’t offer all hosting types. Consider how much you expect to grow your website, and how soon, before you commit to anything longer than a one-year plan. It’s worth spending the time up front to make sure that the host you select with is able to provide the growth you envision for your site, as switching web hosting providers midstream is not a trivial undertaking.

Once you decide you price range, you need to consider how long you’ll need web hosting. If it’s a short-term project—say, less than a month or two—you can typically receive a refund should you cancel your hosting within 60 days. Some companies offer 30-day money-back guarantees, others offer 90-day money-back guarantees. Once again, it’s beneficial to do your homework. The Web Hosting Features You Need

Many web hosts offer limited features in their starter packages and then expand the offerings (sometimes tremendously) for higher-tier plans. Read the small print to make sure the plan you are selecting offers what you need. If you need a site builder application to design your website, make sure that the low-cost web host you are picking actually comes with a site builder. Many of them require you to pay for the builder as a separate add-on. Website builders usually don’t cost a lot of money, but if you can find a web host that includes one for free, that’s money in your pocket. And, if it’s integrated with your hosting service, you’re more likely to have a smooth, supported experience.

You also want a web host with 24/7 customer support—if not by phone, then at least by chat. Forums, knowledge bases, and help tickets are all well and good, but sometimes you just need to communicate with another human to get things ironed out as quickly as possible. That said, not all 24/7 customer support teams are equal. Companies like GoDaddy and Liquid Web boast incredibly knowledgeable and helpful customer support squads—a fact that we confirmed in our in-depth reviews of those web hosting services.

When it comes to server operating systems, Linux is typically the default option. Still, some services offer a choice of Linux or Windows hosting. If you have specific server-side applications that require Windows, such as SQL Server or a custom application written in .NET, then you need to make sure your web host has Windows hosting. But don’t let the idea of a Linux host intimidate you. Nowadays, most web hosts offer a graphical interface or a control panel to simplify server administration and website management. Instead of typing at the command line, you’ll click easily identifiable icons.

Windows hosting is often more expensive than Linux hosting, especially in the dedicated server area. That’s not always the case, but it’s something you should be aware of as you shop around. Email Hosting

If you aim to have a web presence, you’ve got to have email. It’s a convenient way for potential customers and clients to send you a message, Word document, or other files. Thankfully, most web hosts include email in the price of their hosting plans. Some web hosts offer unlimited email account creation (which is great for future growth), while others offer a finite amount. You, naturally, should want unlimited email.

That said, not all web hosts offer email. WP Engine, for example, does not. In such instances, you must email accounts from a company other than your web host. GoDaddy, for instance, sells email packages starting at $3.49 per user, per month. That might sound like a hassle, and just one more thing to keep track of, but there are actually some webmasters who feel that separating your email hosting and web hosting services is smart. That way, one provider going offline won’t completely bork your business. Uptime, Uptime, Uptime!

The aforementioned features are valuable to the web hosting experience, but none matches the importance of site uptime. If your site is down, clients or customers will be unable to find you or access your products or services.

Recently, we’ve added uptime monitoring to our review process, and the results show that most web hosts do an excellent job of keeping sites up and running. Web hosts with uptime issues are heavily penalized during the review process and are unable to qualify for top ratings. Ecommerce and Marketing

One thing we learned in reviewing the services listed here (and many more) is that even though the packages are very similar, they are not identical. Some are more security-focused than others, offering anti-spam and anti-malware tools. Others offer a variety of email marketing tools. While most of the hosts we’ve reviewed have built-in e-commerce, you may want to consider using a more-robust third-party online shopping cart application like Shopify instead.

If you’re ready to select a great web hosting service, check out the chart above to see PCMag’s top picks in the space. When you’re done with that, click the links below to read our in-depth, tested reviews of the biggest and best names in web hosting.

If you’re just getting started in the web hosting game, make sure to check out our primer, How to Build a Website.

What are Website Hosting Services and Which is Right for You?

Website hosting services are basically the plot of internet land that your website storefront sits on. If you have a website, it needs to be on the web, and these hosting services are the landlords that put up your site and keep it running so your customers can access and see it when they type in your URL.

There are different types of hosting services that cater to the varying types of businesses. Some web hosting companies will build your entire website, while others will just give you the plot of land and the shovel and leave you to it. Depending on your business model and size, you’ll choose a hosting company based on the factors explained below. Once you understand the terminology, you can weigh features and select the service that works best for your company’s needs.

How to Choose the Best Web Hosting Company?

Without the best web hosting, your ability to run a successful website is going to be seriously hindered. There is a dizzying array of web hosting providers competing for your business. How can you pinpoint the best one? Start by keeping the following points in mind:

Bandwidth

The first thing you need to do when shopping for a web host is to evaluate your disk space and bandwidth needs. If your site features lots of graphics, dozens of pages, and large amounts of traffic, you’re going to need decent bandwidth and disk space. Unlimited plans are available, and they make life easier. If your site is going to be simple and not generate a huge amount of traffic, you should be able to get away with less disk space and bandwidth.

Compatibility

Keep compatibility in mind, too. In the excitement of looking for a website hosting provider, you might overlook one critical thing: the type of operating systems that are supported. You’re not going to want to switch operating systems, so double-check this point before settling for a provider.

Reliability

Reliability and availability are critical characteristics to consider when shopping around for web hosting. The best web hosting companies offer availability rates of 98 and 99 percent, frequently referred to as “Uptime.” It’s easy to make such claims, though, so make sure to see if they make good on their promises.

Security

Security is also an essential concern. Choosing a web hosting provider without learning about its available security features is a big mistake. Things like firewalls, daily backups, and user authentication should all be included. It’s also nice to receive notifications whenever changes are made because they can alert you to suspicious activity.

Take a look at how we choose the best web hosting sites in the industry in order to make a better decision about which is right for you.

Hosting Packages and What They Mean to You

The larger or more complex a website, the more comprehensive a configuration package it’s going to need. The main ones are broken down as follows:

Shared web hosting is the basic package that services offer. Your website sits on the same server along with many other websites, so you’re sharing the server, and any other resources, such as memory or CPU. These are good for basic website needs such as email sending, file sharing, and base level ecommerce sites. Shared hosting is the cheapest and therefore smartest option for smaller or startup businesses.

A virtual private server is designated for your direct purposes, more than a shared server. You still may be sharing an actual server, but the service creates a virtual server of your very own. That means all the resources are yours alone, from memory storage to processing power and beyond. This is a safer and much more reliable option that keeps your site separate from the others while still maintaining affordability.

Dedicated hosting is already another level. In addition to getting your own server, dedicated hosting lets you take full control over your server. That means you have full administrative access and can set things up the way you like it. This type of package comes with a royal suite of features that may not be necessary for all types of businesses.

WordPress is a shared hosting service that caters to a more specialized clientele. The servers themselves are optimized differently, and have features that are particularly attractive to WordPress performance such as faster load time, pre-installation, security features that work specifically with WordPress, and WordPress updates. This is useful for businesses that have websites created on WordPress.

Some Top Features When it Comes to Top Hosting Quality

Hosting quality is affected by several factors that are important to weigh during your decision making process. Some of the most significant ones include:

Uptime guarantee

We mention this in more detail below, and really it’s one of the most important factors to consider, so don’t skimp on uptime. HostGator​ has one of the best uptime guarantees at 99.98%.

Load time

Load time is also really important. Recent studies show that the average attention span has shrunk over the years to smaller than that of a goldfish! So, if your website takes even a drop too long to load a page, your business is dead before it’s even started. To keep yourself in the running, be sure your hosting service has a fast load time. A2Hosting​ will deliver a 360ml load time for pages, the fastest in the industry.

Customer support

Because having an issue with your website is nothing to take lightly, you want to make sure customer service is available, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. More on this below.

Location

The number of servers and location plays a huge part in the speed of your website loading and service. Obviously, the more servers available, the faster the service, but where those servers are found in the world will also affect the quality. Look for servers in substantial locations close to you such as the UK, US, or Israel depending on your location.

The Low Down on Uptimes

If you’re looking into web hosting, you’ll hear the term uptime guarantee a lot. That makes a lot of sense considering it is one of the most important factors when choosing a service. Uptime, which is the percentage of time that a hosting service is up and running, will be guaranteed by various companies with a certain percentage of time to be up. That doesn’t mean they will definitely go down for the other percentage of the time, but they can say without fail that they will be up for at least that amount of time.

The reason this is important is because you don’t want your site constantly being unavailable or unreachable to your customers. Otherwise, why have a website at all? A high uptime percentage ensures that your audience can see and interact with your website more often. Quality brands like HostGator and Bluehost​ offer a more than 99% uptime guarantee, and that’s really good for your business.

Top FAQs From Our Readers

We come across a lot of the same questions from our readers. Here are some of the most commonly asked questions along with quick answers for your reference:

About how much does web hosting cost?

The package and type of service you get will determine how much you pay. Prices range anywhere from $2.99/month to around $10/month. For a more in-depth answer, check out the pricing and value section below.

How can I learn more about hosting services?

Review sites like these have done all the work for you and condensed the information you need into short, concise reviews on each brand. Browse these reviews to get the most data in the least amount of time/effort, in order to make a well-informed decision.

Web Hosting Pricing & Value

Some choose web hosting providers based solely on price. While that’s not a great strategy, you should certainly take pricing into consideration. The best providers offer plans for every budget and in some cases, signing up for longer subscriptions will qualify for extra discounts.

Also, leave some room to grow. Choosing a web hosting plan that meets your website’s current needs is great. But, with any luck, your site will grow and expand over time, and your needs may change. Since switching to a new web hosting provider is a major hassle, consider one that offers scalable plans. Meaning, you should be able to upgrade to another plan easily once necessary. Low prices are always nice, but if the low price comes with a limit on space or bandwidth, you need to be sure the deal is really worth it.

Along the same lines, you may want to pay attention to how many email accounts are provided. Whether or not you believe you’ll need dozens of email addresses, it’s nice to have the option to create as many as possible down the line. In most cases, a larger numbers of email addresses are included in more expensive plans. This feature, while not very important to some, is critical to others.

Investigate Hosting Providers’ Customer Service and Support

Even if you’re a natural at setting up websites, it’s nice to know that help is available if you need it. Confirm that the web hosting provider you choose has 24/7 support and make sure that there are several ways in which to get support, too. The most reliable providers will provide support through email, phone, and online chat, giving you the choice of convenience.

The best support includes customer freedom. Review the providers’ policies to ensure that there is a clear, money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the product. After narrowing down the search to just a few candidates, search for online reviews about each of them. Ideally, the reviews should come from actual customers on review sites and not a list of published testimonials on the web hosting providers’ own websites. It should be pretty easy to get a feel for how a web hosting provider treats its customers from the word on the street.

What Extras Are Available Beyond Web Hosting

While providing the basics like bandwidth and disk space are a given, a good web hosting plan will also have at least a few extras. If you’re running an online store, keep an eye out for providers that supply Ecommerce solutions. If you want to be able to implement quick and easy updates, find a provider that offers content management systems. Make sure that they’ll give you access to statistics about your site, as well.

Check out some of the top names in the industry:

HostGator

One of the fastest load times you will find anywhere. It’s also got a 99.98% uptime guarantee (they’re often running at 100%). Not only that, HostGator’s packages are competitively priced, offer great customer support, and deliver an overall terrific user experience. Learn more about HostGator.

Bluehost

Only a close second to HostGator, Bluehost’s cloud service offers a 99.96% uptime guarantee and lags only a fraction of milliseconds behind. If you aren’t very up to speed on computer technologies, you’re going to appreciate Bluehost’s easy to use format that’s been designed to be user-friendly and intuitive. Check out Bluehost’s full review.

A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting boasts the fastest load time in the industry, clocking in at 361ms on average. They also have a 99.96% uptime guarantee and 24/7 US local customer support that’s available via phone or live chat, so you can reach them anytime, and you won’t have to break your teeth to get an answer. Find out more about A2 Hosting.

Conclusion

As tempting as it may be to choose a web hosting provider quickly and just get on with your life, it’s undeniably better to take your time. In doing so, you’ll be able to find a provider you can stick with for the long haul.